Kochi: The Kerala High Court has approved the assistant grade appointments to the Kerala University. The court also asked the university to grant the appointees all benefits from the respective date of appointment, including promotions and all consequential benefits within two months. The court held that action can be taken against the then vice-chancellor, pro-vice-chancellor and members of syndicate, to the extent of lack of integrity, on account of the irresponsibility and irregularities in the process of selection. The court also set aside the report of the high power committee on December 10, 2010 and the report of the Upa Lok Ayukta on December 29, 2011.
The court termed as 'unwarranted' the recommendation of the Upa Lok Ayukta to cancel the rank list and the appointments of assistant grade II in the Kerala University made from the rank list. The order to conduct fresh selection to the posts was absolutely unwarranted. The court held that non-constitution of the board of selection before the selection process by the syndicate, missing of OMR answer scripts, absence of minutes as to fixing of norms for awarding marks in interview/awarding of marks without determining the norms can only be irregularities in the process of selection, for which action can be taken against those who are guilty of lack of integrity.
No further appointment need be made from the rank list and the petitioners, who are included in the rank list, cannot have any claim for appointment from the select list. The final rank list was published on April 29, 2008 containing 1401 candidates on the basis of merit. The appointment orders were issued to 170 candidates. Twenty-five- odd petitions were filed in connection with the assistant grade selection. The prosecution case was that the accused by abusing their position as members of the interview board decided to scale down the written test marks to 75 from 100 and 25 marks for interview with the aim of awarding high marks to their own persons in the interview who secured only low marks in the written test. The agency had also stated that as a result of the corrupt practice by the accused persons, former SFI activists also got selection.
